Another Year in Diagon Alley

Early morning of August 4th, Hampstead Garden on the outskirts of the city.

The sunlight outside the window was strong, penetrating the curtains. Although the temperature was a bit muggy today, it was still a nice summer day for those who didn't need to go out.

"Bang!"

With a soft pop, Hermione appeared in Loren's bedroom, her eyes gleaming with mischief, like a little squirrel stealing a bite of bread.

After standing still, I immediately looked at the bed, but there was nothing there.

Hermione looked puzzled. "You got up early? That's impossible."

By the window, Loren turned around and blinked.

The Hānhan standing on the table also looked up at her.

There was also a pretty yellow owl next to her, which she had never seen before, looking up at her and tilting its little head.

Hermione met the gazes of the two owls and felt as if they were watching a joke, so she blushed slightly. "I'm here to wake you up!"

Hermione grew more and more confident as she spoke, as if she were convincing herself. "Just wanted to ask if you have any plans for your birthday, yes, that's it."

Loren's gaze fell on the girl, who was at the radiant age of youth, her simple attire making her look beautiful and charming. She wore a short-sleeved T-shirt with a simple spotted dog pattern on a white background, paired with a pair of light and loose brown shorts. White socks and dog-themed slippers made her exposed calves look straight and fair, like peeled lotus roots.

"Hmm, I believe you. Wait until next semester and I'll ask Headmaster Dumbledore how to set up an anti- Apparition magic circle in my bedroom."

Hermione didn't care. Next semester was next semester's problem. If this bedroom really was anti- Apparition, she still had the Unlocking Charm and could still enter the bedroom.

Without lingering on the topic, Hermione noticed the unfamiliar owl on the windowsill and asked curiously, "Has anyone sent a letter?"

Loren waved the letter in his hand: "It's a notice from the school—"

"Hmm, why haven't I received the book list Harry mentioned a few days ago?" Before he could finish speaking, Hermione couldn't wait any longer. She shuffled over in her slippers, snatched the parchment from his hand, and quickly scanned it.

"There's nothing special to report, except that third-year students can openly visit Hogsmeade Village, but they need to have their guardians sign the enclosed permission form."

Loren grabbed some jerky and fed it to the two owls, occasionally poking their wing roots with his finger. The two fluffy birds didn't get annoyed, focusing on their food and letting him tease them.

"Hogsmeade ..." Hermione paused for a moment, her heart filled with complex emotions. Under someone's influence, the activity week, which should have been the most anticipated week for third-year wizards, had lost its appeal for her.

Hermione shook her head, turned the letter over, and checked the reading list for the next semester. "Standard Spellbook, Level 3, the Intermediate Transfiguration Guide, Unfogging the Future, Wizarding Antiquities... Monsters Book of Monsters!"

The little Witch's eyes lit up. "Harry mentioned this! Hagrid's textbook on Care of Magical Creatures is amazing! I really want to see this book right now!"

Loren was still teasing the owl.

Hermione glanced at him furtively, a plan slowly forming in her mind. She casually suggested, "How about we go to Diagon Alley for your birthday? I celebrated my birthday in Hogsmeade, and you celebrate yours in Diagon Alley. It'll be a good opportunity for us to see both places."

"Is it my birthday or yours? Why are you making a wish?" Loren teased with a laugh.

"Hmm..." Hermione hesitated for a moment, then changed her approach, "You're the one who plans my birthday, so you should let me plan yours."

Loren remained unmoved, focusing on teasing the owl.

Hermione, unwilling to give up, grabbed his shoulders and shook him, her tone unconsciously taking on a pleading quality. "Loren, come on~"

The sunlight was so bright that Loren was momentarily blinded and lost in the girl's charming innocence.

Two days later, in the early morning.

"Heh~~"

Monica rubbed her eyes. She had been too tired lately. In the summer, more people were drinking soda and beverages, and there were more patients with dental problems, such as cavities, wisdom teeth, and sensitivity to hot and cold. Most of them were regular customers who had chosen Granger house's dental clinic. She and Wendell couldn't refuse, so she had been busy these past few days.

She was also her husband's wife and her daughter's mother. She didn't do as much work at the clinic as Wendell, but she always had to work harder at home. She was often the first one up in the Granger house to prepare breakfast for the family.

It seems like it's the same today.

Mrs. Granger shuffled towards the bathroom in her slippers.

The door wasn't closed, but someone was already inside. The daughter was facing the mirror, wetting her unruly golden-brown curls and combing them.

Her hair was thick and voluminous, growing wildly like her thirst for knowledge and curiosity, possessing a vigorous vitality. Her small face was mostly covered by her hair, and only her delicate collarbone and fair skin revealed that she was a beautiful girl.

Monica was somewhat emotional, as if in the blink of an eye her daughter had grown up and was about to enjoy her vibrant youth.

"Look at this girl, who's so vain that she got up early just to style her hair?" Monica teased with a smile.

Hermione pulled at her hair with both hands, trying to tie it up tightly. Her voice was trembling from the effort as she spoke, "Stop talking, Mom, come help me!"

Monica shook her head and walked over. "My little Hermione, stop messing with your hair so hard. Mommy will teach you some girly tricks. Hair doesn't have to be completely tied up. Hair that's pressed against the scalp doesn't look good. Leave a few strands out..."

"Add a little hairspray."

"Do you want a lipstick? Mom can open a new one for you to use."

When Loren opened the door and saw Hermione like this, he was stunned.

She wore a pure white dress, the hem neither too long nor too short, with irregular ruffles. A few strands of hair fell diagonally across her forehead, exuding youthful energy. The girl's lips were thin and delicate, and the lipstick added a touch of radiance. She smiled faintly, and for a moment, her beauty seemed to Weather Charm Loren.

"Mom dressed me up. How is it? Does it look good?" Hermione felt a little shy as she met the intense gaze.

Just as Loren was in a daze, Grandpa Bates ' voice came from the side. "I said it looks good, why are you standing there like that?"

He chuckled and looked at Hermione: "Hermione, I'm leaving Loren in your care today. Keep an eye on this kid for me."

After saying that, she pushed him out and slammed the door shut.

Hermione covered her mouth and chuckled softly, her clear, crisp voice like a silver bell, falling straight into Loren's heart.

Instead of going to the Leaky Cauldron, the two Apparition directly into Diagon Alley.

Diagon Alley, the largest wizarding commercial street in the England, is packed with people every year at the end of August for the start of the school year. But it's only the beginning of August now, so it's not too bad. Although there are wizards, fairies and Veela coming and going to trade, the streets are still relatively clear, enough for Loren and Hermione to move freely.

The weather is great today, with blue skies, white clouds, and warm sunshine that isn't too hot.

They hadn't spent all the Galleons they'd earned from selling Unicorn Hair, so they didn't need to go to Gringotts. They went to Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions first and bought new magical robes; Loren and Hermione's school uniforms no longer fit, the trousers and sleeves were a few inches too short.

"Hogwarts students, huh? You've arrived quite early!" Madam Malkin's greeted her with a warm smile. Just like when Loren first met her two years ago, she was short and plump, dressed in purple.

Madam Malkin's had the two men stand on footstools at the back of the shop, and she and another shop assistant helped them put on robes and fastened them with pins to fit their length.

As Loren and Hermione let them do as they pleased, they glanced at the mirror in front of them and, for a moment, seemed to see a similar scene from two years ago, when they were brought here by Professor McGonagall.

Back then, they were both tiny and even more immature than they are now. In the blink of an eye, they have both grown much taller.

Hermione blinked, amused. "Am I a little taller than you now?"

"Really? No, it's the footstool and your heels that are higher!" Loren stubbornly refused to admit it. Actually, girls develop earlier than boys, Hermione is indeed taller than him now.

Hermione smiled brightly and didn't refute.

"It's all tried on, my dears, you'll look even better in these!" Madam Malkin's said with a smile. "By the way, this lady's footstool is the same height as yours."

Loren didn't want to linger in front of the mirror for even a second and hurriedly pulled Hermione away. To distract Hermione, Loren led her into Flourish and Blotts.

Hermione was astonished by what she saw in the shop. The shop usually displayed gilded magic books as thick as the Pyramid, but now the bookshelves were gone, replaced by an iron cage containing about a hundred strange books.

The green covers were covered with a layer of wild animal fur. The books were all tangled together, fighting fiercely with each other, and torn pieces of paper flew everywhere. Some of the defeated books crawled on the ground like crabs.

If it weren't for the large, golden words "The Monsters Book of Monsters" printed on the cover, Hermione would have thought it was some kind of terrifying beast. The little Witch fell silent; this wasn't the magical textbook she had imagined.

Loren watched the books fight with great interest. The bookstore clerk was probably the one who hated Hagrid the most. He wondered how the bookstore made its purchases. Didn't they ask the publisher how to tame these books?

The manager of Flourish and Blotts strode over and abruptly asked, "Hogwarts? Here to buy new textbooks?"

"Yes," Hermione nodded, "we need—"

"Get out of the way!" the manager shouted impatiently, put on thick gloves, picked up a large, knotted cane, and walked toward the cage containing hundreds of copies of "The Monsters Book of Monsters".

His expression carried seven parts of courage in the face of death, two parts of fear of pain, and one part of the helplessness of a corporate slave.

"Wait a minute," Loren called out to him with a sigh, "Didn't you ask the publishers what to do with the books when you bought them? They can be calmed down just by stroking the spines."

The manager was stunned. He looked at Loren, then at the books jumbled together in the cage, and asked in disbelief, "Really? Really?"

Before Loren could answer, a loud rip pierced the air as two copies of "The Monsters Book of Monsters" grabbed the other and cruelly tore it in two.

The other Monster Book of Monsters in the cage were quiet for a few seconds, then instantly erupted into a frenzy. As if they had learned some efficient method, they quickly paired up in pairs, ready to imitate the two books from before.

"Stop! Stop!" The manager couldn't stand still any longer. He quickly grabbed a book from the edge of the cage and wouldn't let go even when it bit him. He ran his fingers quickly across the spine of the book, and the Monster Book of Monsters immediately released its grip and lay quietly in his palm.

"It works! It really works!"

The manager was so happy that tears streamed down his face. He loudly called over the other employees, and together they calmed down the hundreds of Monster Book of Monsters and quietly piled them up in several heaps.

After quickly treating the injury on his hand with a healing spell, the manager rushed over, grabbing Loren's hand and shaking it repeatedly, his eyes filled with tears. "Thank you! Thank you so much! If it weren't for you, I can't even imagine how much loss these Monster Book of Monsters would have caused, perhaps even exceeding the two hundred copies of ' The Invisible Book of Invisibility ' that disappeared after being bought..."

Ultimately, the manager, on behalf of Flourish and Blotts, gave them two sets of textbooks for free and promised a 20% discount on all future book purchases.

"Hmph, you helped him solve such a big problem, but it's not free for life. Why are you stopping me from getting a few more books?"

When Loren left Flourish and Blotts, he looked regretful, as if he had suffered a great loss.

Actually, no one wanted to buy more books than Hermione, but she always felt that doing so was like taking advantage of someone's misfortune.

Hermione closed the book "Unfogging the Future" in her hand, put it into the pendant around her neck, and looked at him with a smile, "Loren, Loren, how many secrets do you still have that I don't know?"

Loren shook his head, looking smug. "You said it was a secret, how could I tell?"

Hermione hummed twice, then took his hand and headed towards the next shop.

Loren went to the pharmacy to buy some ingredients needed for Potions class, and also added some common herbs that he thought he might need.

Hmm... things that aren't common are usually expensive, so he'll just take advantage of Professor Snape.

They went to the Changing Ink Stationery and bought plenty of ink and quills, and most importantly, parchment. Hermione had used too much parchment for her A History of Magic paper, and the remaining parchment wasn't enough to finish her Potions Master on Shrinking Potion. Loren found the color-changing ink interesting and bought two bottles as well.

There were past issues of the Daily Prophet on the stationery store counter, and Loren glanced at them a few times while waiting for Hermione.

The first edition features two photos side by side. On the left is a woman with a gloomy face, vicious eyes, and messy hair, while on the right is Wormtail Peter, an acquaintance of Loren's.

Loren picked up the newspaper and looked at it. Half a minute later, he roughly understood what had happened.

The Deputy Minister of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement defected, releasing Death Eater Bellatrix Lestrange in the process. The Ministry of Magic then conveniently announced Wormtail Peter's escape as well, and now a high-ranking Ministry of Magic official and two Death Eater are listed as First-Class wanted criminals.